Clothesline pulley bracket



Dec. 14, 1943. J ANDERSON f 2,336,914

CLOTHESLINE PULLEY BRACKET Filed May 9, 1942 INVENTOR Josgofi 6f flnderaon ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 14, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Joseph C. Anderson, Torrington, Conn.

Application May 9, 1942, Serial No. 442,318

1 Claim.

This invention relates to continuous clotheslines, and more particularly to a duplex pulley bracket for carrying a pair of widely-spaced alined pulleys, andhaving means mounted centrally between said pulleys to permit said bracket to swivel on a horizontal axis upon a post or other vertical support.

One object of the present invention is to provide a clothesline pulley bracket of the above nature consisting of a straight frame slotted at both ends for receiving the pulleys, said pulley slots being connected together on the outer side of the bracket by a longitudinal groove through which the clothesline passes.

Another object is to provide a clothesline bracket of the above nature in which the longitudinal groove is enclosed by a rectangular metal plate located at the center of said bracket and having an eye swiveled therein and adapted to be hung over a hook secured to the vetrical post.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clothesline apparatus of the above nature in which the upper and lower stretches of the clothesline will be widely spaced apart at both ends thereof, thus reducing the possibility of soiling, tangling, or tearing the clothes hung upon the lower stretch of the clothesline by preventing the same from coming into contact with the upper stretch of said clothesline.

A further object is to provide an improved clothesline pulley bracket of the above nature which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawing two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of a clothesline passing around a pair of the improved duplex pulley brackets, one of which is swiveled on a hook on a post at the house end of the line, and the other of which is swiveled on a hook connected to a post at a point distant from the house.

Figure 2 is a side view of one of the pulley brackets, with the upper portion thereof in section, and showing the appearance of the clothesline when in assembled position.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 3---3 of Figure 2, looking downwardly in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a similar cross-sectional view of the pulley bracket shown in Figure 2, taken along the line 4-4, looking downwardly.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a modified form of clothesline pulley which may be employed in place of the form of pulley shown in Figures 2-4.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral I0 indicates a clothesline having its upper and lower stretches maintained in substantially parallel relation and connected to the post I I at the house end of the clothesline, and to a yard post I2 at the other end thereof, at a point remote from the house.

The ends of the clothesline Ill are connected together to form an endless loop by means of an adjustable clothesline clamp Illa, and the parallel stretches of said clothesline are held in spacedapart condition by means of a pair of elongated wooden brackets I3 which are straight, and preferably rectangular in cross section.

The brackets I3 are provided at each end with pulley-receiving slots I4 and I5, which slots are connected together by an elongated groove I6 located in the outer side of the bracket I3. The outer corners Ita and I6!) of the bracket are preferably curved as shown in Figure 2.

The groove I6 and the slots I4 and I5 are slightly wider than the diameter of the clothesline III, so that the latter will be substantially centralized and caused to run accurately over a pair of pulleys 22 and 23 mounted within the slots I4 and I5. The groove I6 is provided with a rear metal cover plate I! located centrally between the ends of the bracket I3 and secured to the sides of said groove I6 by a plurality (four in this instance) of bolts I8, passing entirely through said bracket and having their ends I8a headed over upon the inner faces of the bracket I3.

The metal cover plate I'I serves to retain the clothesline Ill in the groove I6 and is provided at its center with an aperture for receiving a swivel eye member I9 having a head I9a located in front of the plate I! within the groove I6. The swivel eye member I9 is adapted to be hung over a hook (20, 2|) securely fixed in position upon the post I I (or I Z) for supporting the clothesline in operating position.

By means of this construction, it will be seen that the pulley brackets I3 will be permitted to swing freely in the wind, and will be spaced apart sufiiciently so that the washing hung on the lower stretch of the clothesline will not come into contact with the upper stretch of said clothesline, and by reason of the central pivoting of the eye member 19, the clothesline will swing freely and rapidly inthe wind, thus causing the clothes to be quickly dried.

Mounted in each end of the wooden bracket F3 and located within the slots I4 and I5 thereof, are a pair of pulleys 22 and 23, which have fiat smooth outer rims 30 and a ball bearing mounting 24. .The mounting 24 consists of an inner raceway 25 secured to a central shaft 26 rigidly fixed within the opposite faces of the slotted end section of the wooden block [3. Provision is also made of an outer raceway, 2'! which is separated from the inner raceway 25 by a plurality of ball bearings 28 whereby the pulleys .Modified form of pulley i In the modified form of pulley 3| illustrated in Figure 5, provision is made of a central cylindrical hollow hub 32 which is adapted to fit over One advantage of the present invention is that the weight of the clothes upon the lower stretch of the clothesline will tend to prevent the lower pulleys of the brackets from being swung upwardly above the horizontal level of the washing and the latter will thus be prevented from being soiled by coming into contact with the upper stretch of the clothesline.

a needle bearing, not shown, and which bear- 1 ing is adapted to be mounted in the slotted end of thebracket l! (in a manner similar to the shaft 26 as shown in Figure 3); v

The cylindrical hub 32 is embraced by a pair of opposed annular half-sections 33 and 34 prefthe half-sections 33 and 34, asshown.

in concave semicircular shape from the ends of While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understoodthat these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming withinthe scope of the followin claim. Having thus fully described the invention, whatis claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

In a duplex clothesline pulley bracket for receiving an endless clothesline with the upper and lower stretches of said clothesline widely spaced apart, an elongated straight block having slotted ends, a pair of vertically aligned pulleys journaled in said slotted ends, the side of said block having a continuous groove connecting the slots in the ends of said block, said clothesline being closely confined and centralized within said slots and groove, a cover plate secured to the central portion of the side of said block outside of the clothesline which passes around said pulleys and through said groove, and a swivel eye connected to said cover plate for attachment to a fixed anchorage to support said bracket in such a mannerthat it is free to swing in the wind upon said swivel eye.

Jos'EPH 0., ANDERSON. j 

